Alternative Three Player Rules

[Skywalker]

I love this game. However, I would like to see a better 3 player scenario in which Sauron and Saruman are reluctant allies. Does anyone know any such house rules?

I am currently working on my own version. Essentially, it doesn't change the existing game much. It adds a new seperate vistory condition for Saruman (capturing Frodo) and provides rules for determining the ultimate winner in a Shadow player's military vistory (which should create some friction).

Here is the general outline:

General

1. Saruman player only controls the Isengard forces. Sauron player controls the Sauron and Easterling/Southron forces.

2. Play turn goes Free Peoples player, Sauron player, Saruman player.

3. Saruman player gets 2 dice and Sauron player gets 5 dice. Minions give extra dice as before to the respective players.

4. Sauron and Saruman players have the same Event Deck hand as before and individually spend dice to play them.

5. Nazgul do not act as leaders for Isengard forces. Sauron/Easterling/Southron forces may not combine with Isengard forces. They may exist on the same space and may attack each other.

The Hunt

6. Saruman may not put any dice into the Hunt Pool but any "Eye" dice still get put there and is rolled by the Saruman player during a Hunt.

7. The Hunt Rules are the same except that if the Hunt Pool includes a Saruman dice and a tile is drawn that involves a Reveal and Corruption (an Eye, 1 or 2) then the Saruman player may elect to forgo the Hunt Damage and force the Fellowship player to eliminate as a casuality, a number of hobbits in the Fellowship equal to the Corruption (Frodo and Sam are considered 1 hobbit). When a Eye tiles if drawn the Hunt Damage is the successes rolled on Saruman dice only.

Victory Conditions

8. Sauron and Saruman players can win a military vistory if together they gain 10 VPs (as before). However, Sauron is considered the ultimate winner if he gains 7 VPs and/or Saruman is considered the ultimate winner if he gains 4 VPs.

9. If the Fellowship is corrupted, Sauron is the ultimate winner.

10. If Saruman manages to eliminate 3 hobbits from the Fellowship by the Hunt, then Saruman is the ulimate winner.

Comments, thoughts?

[Kris]

The old SPI game continued the game after Saruman seized the Ring. In other words, it was not a given that Saruman could use his additional power to create a victory when the rest of the world was against him.

You'd have to create rules for what benefits the Ring gives to Saruman. He will probably get some of Sauron's dice and maybe some extra strategy cards. His mustering and leadership ability should certainly increase. In the old SPI game, the Nazgul slowly defected to Saruman once he had the Ring, and I believed the traitorous Nazgul could take their armies with them to the enemy side. Maybe Saruman should be required to conquer four points of Free People's strongholds and four points of Sauron strongholds to win the game.

The Free Peoples and Sauron can seize the Ring again if they defeat Saruman in battle. Sauron will be able to use all his remaining dice for his armies because he won't be searching for Frodo any more.

Maybe you want to give the Free Peoples a chance to rescue Frodo once he is captured. In other words, maybe a Uruk-hai unit (representing a mere patrol) is placed on the board near the Fellowship if Frodo is captured. Saruman has to get this unit back to Orthanc to be able to use the Ring. Maybe the Free Peoples are now in the position of searching for an elusive enemy. Maybe the Free People's can roll for the Hunt--with modifiers if Gandalf and Strider and their armies are in the same region as the Urak-hai patrol.

I hope this gives you some ideas. I believe you might be able to find the rules for old SPI War of the Ring on the web somewhere.

[Skywalker]

Some very interesting ideas.

However, I really want to avoid creating entirely new aspects to the game. As written, I don't think Saruman can be a truly independent player as would be required if the game continued with the Ring being with Saruman.

As such, I think the clean victory for Saruman is simpler in that though Saruman and Sauron are working together for a military victory, they can both undermine each other by trying to steal the Ring.

[rezha]

I posted some suggestions here:

veldrin.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=HouseRules&action=display&thread=1103205115

let's work togteher and somthing good wiil come up.

Marek